The Right to Safe Drinking Water in International Law in Slovenia's Legal Framework and Implementation

The Right to Safe Drinking Water in International Law in Slovenia's Legal Framework and Implementation Presented by: Dr. Juhart Date: 24 April 2022 Right to safe drinking water (RSDW) – International aspects - Since 2010, several countries have also updated their legal frameworks to reflect water and sanitation as human rights. - In academic literature (f.e. Sereno), the right to water is sometimes defined also as a subjective human right with direct applicability The Constitution of RoS - Article 70a was added to the Constitution in 2016, and provides: • "Everyone has the right to drinking water. • Water resources shall be a public good managed by the state. • As a priority and in a sustainable manner, water resources shall be used to supply the population with drinking water and water for household use and in this respect shall not be a market commodity. • The supply of the population with drinking water and water for household use shall be ensured by the state directly through self-governing local communities and on a not-for-profit basis." The implementation of RSDW - Environmental Protection Act (2022): The drinking water supply is a mandatory local economic public service. - This means that ensuring the drinking water supply is the task of the municipality or city municipality in its entire territory. - Local communities have the authority to regulate method and conditions for the drinking water supply by municipal ordinances - Water Act (2002): The drinking water supply shall have priority over use of water for other purposes. Conflict of different aspects - In the summer of 2022, there was a severe drought in a large part of Slovenia, which affected the water sources for the drinking water supply and, in some places, caused a severe shortage of drinking water. One of the possible solutions proposed by the City of Koper to solve the drinking water supply problem was drying the Rižana river bed. Fishermen and some environmentalists strongly opposed the announced measure, while the mayor of the City of Koper noted, when the measure was announced, that people's lives and health should be prioritized over animals and plants. The Koper fishing organization stated that such a decision means ecological damage and permanent longterm damage to people from the source to the outfall. Fortunately, the situation improved, and there was no need to resort to such extreme measures. Connection to the public water network - Facilities in the public water supply area must be connected to the public water supply. Consent for the connection of a new building to the public water supply system is a condition for issuing a building permit. - In the case of illegal buildings, the building inspector shall issue a decision prohibiting the connection of such a building to economic public infrastructure, which also includes public water supply. Nevertheless, people sometimes live in such buildings, and such a residence can also be permanent. Hudorovič v. RoS (ECtHR Case 24816/14) - In 2014, two Roma families approached the ECtHR, claiming that they did not have access to drinking water and sanitary facilities and, therefore, their right to respect for private and family life according to Article 8 was infringed. - The municipality installed a water tank in the settlement, regularly filled by the firefighters. - The ECtHR considered that the authorities ensured that the applicants had access to safe drinking water through concrete measure. Connection to the public water network - Areas where there is no public water supply. • Decree on Drinking Water Supply stipulates that public water supply must be provided in the area of settlement with 50 or more permanent residents and with a settlement density greater than five permanent residents per hectare. - Ombudsman opinion 18.1-3/2018 - He considered a petition of a resident of a small hamlet in the Municipality of Ribnica, who has been trying unsuccessfully for 23 years to gain access to safe drinking water. According to it, there are currently 11 houses in the hamlet, where 25 people, aged from 6 to 80, live. - The local community stated many excuses in its answer to Ombudsman. - Ombudsman put in his opinion, that the municipality violated the principle of good governance. The petition was thus justified. Suspension of drinking water supply due to non-payment - The Constitutional Court (1998) ruled on the question of the interruption of the drinking water. The Court ruled that the interruption of the drinking water supply due to nonpayment of obligations was a permissible measure. - Such an arrangement for interrupting the supply of drinking water is highly inappropriate. - Interestingly, the interruption of the supply of some other essential goods is fundamentally different. - Electricity Supply Act (2021) recognizes a special category of vulnerable customers. The supplier shall not disconnect electricity from a vulnerable customer, so as not to endanger the life and health of the customer and the persons who live with him. - Undoubtedly, a legally comparable provision would also be necessary in Slovenia in the field of drinking water supply. - Ombudsman Case • He received a letter from a single mother with two children, asking for intervention due to an allegedly unjustified disconnection of water. The company explained that the disconnection had occurred due to non-payment of water supply. The petitioner did not deny the debt. The Ombudsman concluded that the disconnection of the drinking water supply due to non-payment of costs is, in principle, legally permissible. It also failed to find any violation of the law by the company. However, in this specific case, it could not be overlooked that the petitioner is a single mother with small children who were denied the vital right to a water supply. On this basis, the Ombudsman suggested that the company reconsider the circumstances of the case. Poverty and the lack of basic goods mean a severe encroachment on human dignity, the consequences of which and social stigmatization are especially felt by children. The company responded to the Ombudsperson's initiative with understanding and informed that they would allow the petitioner to reconnect, agreeing that children should not suffer the consequences of the circumstances in which their parents find themselves. The Ombudsman assessed the conduct of the company VodovodKanalizacija d.o.o. Ljubljana as an example of good practice. Right to safe drinking water/ sanitation - Constitution - Human dignity - Catalogue of fundamental rights - Supplement the catalogue (right to be forgotten) - New generations of rights - Eternal clauses - German CC - human dignity is a itself a fundamental right [BVerfGE 1, 332 (347); 12, 113 (123); 15, 283 (286); 28, 151 (163); 28, 243 (263); 61, 126 (137); sau 109, 133 (151)]. - French CC - human dignity principle of constitutional value - Decision no.94343/344/27.07.1994, 485QPC/25.09.2015. + no.2010- 25QPC/16.09.2010 and no.2015- - ECJ - general principle of law C-36/02 Omega Spielhallen- und Automatenaufstellungs-GmbH, par.34 - Romanian CC - supreme value of the state, double nature (general principle and ght Decision no.465/2019, fundamental right - par.52 - Independent human right or part of other fundamental rights (right to life, health, decent living standards) - Absolute or relative? - Substantive or procedural? - When can an inherent part of a fundamental right become itself a fundamental right? - State obligations (positive and negative) Decision no.319/2017 (Romanian CC) - By laws - Access to the public water network (Decision no.3/2018) - Suspension of drinking ware supply due to non-payment (Decision no.731/2021) Conclusions - Rio Declaration (1992) sustainable development = three interrelated dimensions: environmental, economic and social - Social awareness - Legal protection - State obligations